Weld critique

[Thebeast]

Hi there I am new to mig welding and iv never been taught by anyone just do my own kind of thing haha. Could anyone give me any tips on getting my welding better? Anything I can improve on to get my welds neater?

Thank you for any help and I have attached some photos below

 

[bourbon]

Grinder? LOL. They look good. But someone who knows way more than me will be along with more constructive advice.

 

[Thebeast]

Grinder? LOL. They look good. But someone who knows way more than me will be along with more constructive advice.

Thanks bro

 

[Wozzaaah]

Are you doing overlapping tacks or it it some sort of weaving movement? Those welds should just be one continuous bead.

 

[Thebeast]

Are you doing overlapping tacks or it it some sort of weaving movement? Those welds should just be one continuous bead.

I am bringing it forward and taking it back and bringing it forward. Should I just push straight abit like stick welding?

 

[Wozzaaah]

I am bringing it forward and taking it back and bringing it forward. Should I just push straight abit like stick welding?

Yes, just set the machine up with the correct parameters and off you go.

 

[Thebeast]

Are you doing overlapping tacks or it it some sort of weaving movement? Those welds should just be one continuous bead.

Or do you mean I should weld the full circle in one hit? I struggle to do more than 1/4 that’s all so I do it in 4 pieces I guess if I had some sort of plate that spins could easily do it in 1

 

[chrismac]

I am bringing it forward and taking it back and bringing it forward. Should I just push straight abit like stick welding?

yes get your angle of the torch sorted and push your way round, starting and stopping 3/4 times to get round. to start with..... then you'll be spinning it with one hand and torch in the other doing it in a one'r

 

[Wozzaaah]

Or do you mean I should weld the full circle in one hit? I struggle to do more than 1/4 that’s all so I do it in 4 pieces I guess if I had some sort of plate that spins could easily do it in 1

You can do it in stages but there's no need to use any fancy to-ing and fro-ing.
If it's not structural then it's not really an issue, it's just making unnecessary work for yourself and wasting gas and wire.

 

[Welderpaul]

I am bringing it forward and taking it back and bringing it forward. Should I just push straight abit like stick welding?

Try laying straight beads first to get some practice in. Welding around a small diameter tube and keeping the weld neat is harder to do as it needs a lot of torch manipulation very quickly. It's easy to get out of position.

Don't do the backwards forwards wiggle around thing. Just weld it in one smooth forward movement.

 

[Thebeast]

yes get your angle of the torch sorted and push your way round, starting and stopping 3/4 times to get round. to start with..... then you'll be spinning it with one hand and torch in the other doing it in a one'r

Thank you mate is there anything wrong with weaving like I have been? I’m guessing it’s better to just do no movement when travelling with the bead

 

[chrismac]

Thank you mate is there anything wrong with weaving like I have been? I’m guessing it’s better to just do no movement when travelling with the bead

there is just no point, your weld will be as sweet as if you just do it in one sweep, as mentioned by others helping out with advice too.

 

[Thebeast]

Try laying straight beads first to get some practice in. Welding around a small diameter tube and keeping the weld neat is harder to do as it needs a lot of torch manipulation very quickly. It's easy to get out of position.

Don't do the backwards forwards wiggle around thing. Just weld it in one smooth forward movement.

Thank you I will definitely try this out next time :-)

 

[Thebeast]

there is just no point, your welded will be as sweet as if you just do it in one sweep, as mentioned by others helping out with advice too.

Thank you mate

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

yes get your angle of the torch sorted and push your way round, starting and stopping 3/4 times to get round. to start with..... then you'll be spinning it with one hand and torch in the other doing it in a one'r

I found that it was easier to get it tacked up in a vice on the corner of a table, start at the most awkward point, bring the torch towards me, then basically step round the workpiece as I went to put myself on the other side.

Keeping your arms stable whilst your body moves takes some practice, but it's very quick and means the position is getting progressively more comfortable as you progress through the weld.

 

[chrismac]

I found that it was easier to get it tacked up in a vice on the corner of a table, start at the most awkward point, bring the torch towards me, then basically step round the workpiece as I went to put myself on the other side.

Keeping your arms stable whilst your body moves takes some practice, but it's very quick and means the position is getting progressively more comfortable as you progress through the weld.

absolutely, I think keeping your arms fixed is interesting as I prefer the whole body moving, head, legs, arms, back, all to get to where everything needs to be to get the perfect weld,

The benefit of a forum, lots of various ways to achieve the same outcome.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

absolutely, I think keeping your arms fixed is interesting as I prefer the whole body moving, head, legs, arms, back, all to get to where everything needs to be to get the perfect weld,

The benefit of a forum, lots of various ways to achieve the same outcome.

Not fixed per se, because they have to keep moving the torch, but the moment when you take a step, where you need to keep your hands doing what they're doing, whilst you move your shoulders away from them.

 

[Thebeast]

Tried without moving about I think they look a lot better than before

 

[bourbon]

Self taught?? How many hours torch time was that? They are very professional looking

 

[chrismac]

Tidy job